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Monday was Inauguration Day for Mayor Gregor Robertson and his council and they conducted a ceremony at Creekside Community Recreation Centre, in Vancouver, December 5, 2011. This is the Mayor's Inaugural Speech.

Photograph by: Stuart Davis
, PNG

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson used his inaugural speech Monday to announce he is creating a blue-ribbon panel to look into the underlying issues of housing affordability.

Saying that the high cost of housing is threatening to make Vancouver unlivable, Robertson said he wants the panel to come up with short and long-term solutions, including using more of the city's own lands.

But he also acknowledged that the seemingly intractable issues around why Vancouver's housing remains among the most expensive in Canada likely means his Vision Vancouver-led council won't find solutions quickly, even within their three year term of office.

He said the "task force", which will be named within weeks, will include advocates, architects, developers, building owners, financiers and citizens.

"They'll identify ways we can increase Vancouver's supply of affordable homes — both immediately, for the most urgent needs, and for the long term," he said.

As Robertson gave his speech at the Creekside Community Centre, a handful of Occupy Vancouver protesters held up signs and banged on windows from the outside. They objected to the modest swearing-in ceremony, which Robertson estimated will cost $13,000.

Robertson tied his pledge on housing to a promise to also boost the city's economy, including bringing a new an annual "investment summit" to Vancouver to help create jobs.

"Tackling affordability needs to be in concert with creating jobs in a dynamic, resilient economy," he said. "Our vision includes creating good-paying jobs in our diverse array of industries. We'll work to keep taxes low and support small business. We'll invest in our creative economy, protecting artist spaces and creating new studio space for our cultural entrepreneurs. And we'll promote Vancouver as a world-leading destination for people and investment."

Robertson did not give a lot of details about his housing task force but staff say it builds on a "blue sky" housing affordability report council approved in principal last July that laid out some ideas for how to reduce the barriers to home ownership and rentals.

The team will be similar in scope to the Greenest City Action Plan task force Robertson appointed three years ago that came up with the pledge of making Vancouver "the greenest city in the world" by 2020.

The housing task force is also expected to incorporate many of the promises Robertson made during last month's election.

"I'd like to see some short-term actions recommended in the coming months so that council can take action this year," he said. "We have a huge need, particularly with our younger population having trouble finding housing. We have tools at the city and we want the best ideas from the community to drive that change."

Robertson said the city's own land bank is integral to those ideas.

"I think the city's land portfolio is underutilized and there will be opportunities to leverage that to see more affordable housing opportunities created," he said.

In the July housing report, city staff proposed providing $42 million in land and capital grants over 10 years to create 38,000 new affordable homes, including 7,900 supportive and social housing units, 11,000 market rental units and 20,000 new condo and "ownership" units by 2021.

Some of the ideas being floated include a "rent bank" for helping tenants who face eviction for nonpayment of rent; long-term city land leases; profit-taking limits for some kinds of housing that would end property speculation; and breaks for developers who create housing by making less profit.

Newly-elected opposition councillors Elizabeth Ball, George Affleck and Adriane Carr said they want to see more details on the housing plan but at first blush generally support it.

"It will be interesting to see how effective it can be," Ball said. "I had understood they already had a committee in the past so I don't know what this committee can do or will do, so it will be a real education."

"It's going to take a lot of effort because solving affordable housing is not just about creating about housing, it is about getting the right development decision," Carr said.

Monday was Inauguration Day for Mayor Gregor Robertson and his council and they conducted a ceremony at Creekside Community Recreation Centre, in Vancouver, December 5, 2011. This is the Mayor's Inaugural Speech.

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